The present invention pertains to the field of computer peripherals. More particularly, the invention relates to a cooling apparatus for use in an enclosed computer system.
The speed of integrated circuits has grown at an exponential rate in recent years. This has resulted in an unprecedented surge in computing performance. Unfortunately, the use of faster and more powerful integrated circuits generally results in an increase in heat generation.
In addition to the integrated circuits required for computer operation (e.g., the microprocessor and disk drive controllers residing on the motherboard), computers today incorporate numerous additional integrated circuits though the use of add-in circuit cards. These add-in cards can be plugged directly into the expansion bus slots of the motherboard. Common expansion bus slots today include the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus the Extended ISA (EISA) bus, and the high-speed PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus. It is not uncommon for a computer to have the majority of these expansion bus slots filled. For example, a typical personal computer will contain a 3D video card, a modem or network card, and a sound card. These additional components, while providing additional functionality, contribute to the electrical heat dissipation within the computer chassis and also take up significant amounts of space within the chassis.
Maintaining computer system components below certain temperature levels is important to ensure performance, reliability, and safety. Most integrated circuits have specified maximum operating temperatures above which the manufacturer does not recommend operation. Moreover, transistors, the building blocks of integrated circuits, tend to slow down as operating temperatures increase. In severe cases, integrated circuits may be physically damaged if temperatures elevate beyond those recommended. Such physical damage will clearly impact system performance. Accordingly, it is desirable to keep a computer system from operating its integrated circuits close to or beyond recommended temperatures.
Typically, heat sinks, fans, blowers, and heat pipes are employed to dissipate heat from integrated circuits and other electronic components. Increases in heat generation are often accompanied by increases in the quantity and size of the heat dissipation elements. However, the size of such elements is limited by the space available within a typical computer chassis. Moreover, the usefulness of such heat dissipation elements decreases if the ambient temperature surrounding the elements (i.e., the air temperature within the computer chassis) becomes too high.
DC brushless blower systems are therefore necessary to remove the heated air from the computer chassis (or, alternatively, to blow cool air into the chassis). For many years, a single DC brushless blower located within the power supply has been adequate for removing hot air from the computer chassis. However, as the speed of computer components increases, accompanied by an increase in heat dissipation, such a configuration will prove unworkable. Today, in more powerful computers (e.g., high powered file servers) which require additional cooling, an area of space within the computer chassis is specifically allocated for an additional fan or blower. Attaching the supplemental fan or blower to the computer chassis requires an interface on the computer chassis adapted specifically for the attachment of the fan or blower.
It would be advantageous to provide a blower package which would fit within a computer chassis without taking up a specifically allocated area of space within the computer chassis. Such an area would be better utilized to incorporate integrated circuit boards. It would also be advantageous to provide a cooling blower apparatus which could be attached to an interface common to most computer systems, thereby eliminating the need for a specialized interface.
The computer peripheral bay cooling apparatus comprises a blower chassis adapted to fit within the 5xc2xc inch drive bay of a computer chassis and a blower enclosed within the blower chassis.